Ultra-Luminous X-Rays in the Whirlpool Galaxy, cropped
Edited Chandra Space Telescope image of the Whirlpool Galaxy with an ultra-luminous x-ray source. NASA cropping.
Original caption: This image contains nearly a million seconds worth of Chandra observing time (purple) along with optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope (red, green, and blue). The X-ray data reveal hundreds of point-like sources, most of which are X-ray binary systems (XRBs) containing a neutron star or black hole in orbit with a star like the Sun. Researchers are studying the XRBs in M51, a.k.a. the "Whirlpool Galaxy," to better understand the role they play in the evolution of the galaxy.
Ultra-Luminous X-Rays in the Whirlpool Galaxy, cropped
Edited Chandra Space Telescope image of the Whirlpool Galaxy with an ultra-luminous x-ray source. NASA cropping.
Original caption: This image contains nearly a million seconds worth of Chandra observing time (purple) along with optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope (red, green, and blue). The X-ray data reveal hundreds of point-like sources, most of which are X-ray binary systems (XRBs) containing a neutron star or black hole in orbit with a star like the Sun. Researchers are studying the XRBs in M51, a.k.a. the "Whirlpool Galaxy," to better understand the role they play in the evolution of the galaxy.